Al-Dura Sham: French Court Backs Libel Suit against Israeli MD

A French court backs a libel suit against an Israeli doctor by the father of Mohammed al-Dura, whose murder was falsely blamed on the IDF.

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Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, 01/05/11 10:42 | updated: 10:51

Scales of justice?

Israel news photo: archive

A French court has backed a libel suit against an Israeli doctor by the father of Mohammed al-Dura, whose murder by Gaza terrorists was falsely blamed on the IDF.

The al-Dura murder, for which the IDF originally apologized, was filmed by French journalists, whose claim the boy was killed by IDF fire later was disproven.

The father, Jamal al-Dura, said he was injured while trying to protect his child, but Israeli Dr. Yehuda David told a French newspaper that he had operated on Jamal in 1994 after a surgical operation in Gaza failed. He revealed that the injuries that were claimed to be caused by IDF fire actually were due to an injury which left scars as a result of the surgery.

Jamal al-Dura sued the doctor for slander, and the court approved the suit on Friday, ordering Dr. David to pay him NIS 30,000 (nearly $9,000). Dr. David said he will appeal the decision in favor of the suit, which he called “a terrible scam.”

He told reporters, “They are twisting the truth…This is disgusting," and he warned that the decision could spur further terrorist attacks and an escalation in anti-Israel hate from Europe.

The Israeli government has funded Dr. David’s defense and will continue to help him in his appeal, two ministers said after the conviction. Arab MK Ahmed Tibi demanded that the doctor be prosecuted for violating doctor-patient confidentiality by publishing the information on the operation.